Lily and James How it came to be
by Megan Black
Summary: It was seventh year... James' parents are sick, they are quite an old wizarding couple, his head deflates and begins to find comfort in talking to Lily.
1. Chapter 1

The end of summer was inevitable. As the sun gleamed through the windows of the Potter house, James began to stir, his eyes were half open and his hair uncontrollably tosseled. He sat up and looked around his room, his Quidditch poster's were plastered on the walls, his school books were stashed into a far corner of his bedroom and he refused to touch them until it was completely necessary.

James was a smart boy, he was the last of the Potter line, his parents who were old even by wizarding standards had slightly pampered him. He wasn't spoiled, he amused them, and was never taught the importance of "roughing" it. Mrs Potter had been an editor for the Daily Prophet when she was younger, and Mr Potter had been an Auror for the Ministry of Magic.

Mrs Potter was a delicate woman, very kind, very fragile, she spoke softly and laughed often with her son. She and her husband had always wanted a child and though in there early years it seemed impossible they were blessed with James much later.

Mr Potter was an intimidating man, yet he was very approachable. James found it easy to discuss matters of importance with his father and felt and extreme amount of both respect and loyalty to his father. Though the Potter's were Pure-bloods the family never boasted to be better than anyone else by blood line. However Mr Potter's years in the Ministry had made him very weary of the Dark Arts, and was very stern with James about them, and his prejudice for them were passed to his son.

"James! What are you going to do sleep past lunch? Sirius is here and waiting!" yelled Mrs Potter

James slowly rolled out of bed, he pulled out some clothes, put on his glasses and tossled his hair then proceeded downstairs.

"Good Lord Prongs, certainly took you long enough" Sirius smirked.

"Now are you sure you boys dont want to stay here for lunch?"

"No mom, we'll be fine, dont worry about us, we are headed off to Three Broomsticks. We'll be back later" James said looking slightly guilty

"Oh, alright" she said quietly

"I love you, ill see you tonight mom" and with that James left the house,

"whats up with you my dear boy!" Sirius said wondering where this melancholy had come from

"Dad's sick, my parents have suddenly realized they are getting older. With all that is going on with this Voldemort guy taking over my parents are just getting a little bit more attached."

"This Voldemort guy, can't be much worse than Grinewald, and surely Dumbledore will vanquish him before too long" Sirius said trying to reassure his friend "besides this is our final year at Hogwarts and I refuse to let my best friend mope around this year wondering when a certain red head will finally return his affections"

At this James finally smiled "I have decided Padfoot, that this year will be different, I will be Lily Evans' boyfriend before graduation"

"Prongsy, how do you plan on pulling that one off?" Sirius jested

"Thats my business, but my parents wont be around much longer, and I want them to see me married, and I want that girl to be Lily Evans, mark my word"

"Well Prongs I do not mean to offend, but how about you try to get her to stay in the same room with you without singing your shortcomings and then MAYBE she will be your girlfriend"

They walked into Three Broomsticks, and walked over to the bar.

"Well if it isn't my two favorite Gryffindors" Madame Rosmerta smiled, "What can I get for you today boys?"

"Your mere presence is enough to satisfy Madame" Sirius said smirking,

"However" added James "2 butterbeers would be fantastic"

"Coming right up"

"Sirius you can be downright embarrassing sometimes,"

"Well at least I'm not drawing snitches all over my notebooks with L.E written in the middle, I mean really Prongsy sometimes you act like a real wanker" James face turned slightly red and he looked away, "Oh come on James, dont get all dark and brooding again"

"Agh, have you heard from Remus and Peter lately? I havent heard from Peter and Remus has only owled a few times"

"Nah" said Sirius "Remus wrote a few weeks ago asking when we were getting together before we go to Kings Cross, and I wrote Peter last week, maybe its because I'm lonely but I was beginning to get kind of worried about that little berk"

It was then that a group of girls walked in, giggling about something or another, but making enough commotion to draw attention to themselves. The boys turned around, sure enough it was a group of 6th and 7th year Hogwarts girls, and to James' surprise they were accompanied by Lily.

It wasnt that Lily wasn't popular, but her friendships didnt usually include those of giggling girls, however among the girls was Hannah Stewart a strange but quiet girl whose parents were unfathomably wealthy which always put her among the elite, and she was Lily's best friend.

"Well Prongsy it looks like your fiance has just walked in, shall I go congratulate her?" Sirius jested

"No, I intend not to acknowledge the girls until we leave"

The girls crowded around a table in the back of the bar, they all had stories from the summer to tell,

"We went on vacation to Egypt to see the Pyramids, and discover the "wonders" of the ancient wizards" said one tall 7th year

"Well my family stayed at home, my parents wanted to be sure I had no reason to not do my home-" Cecilia Menkins interrupted

"Did anyone else notice two of those attractive boys sitting by the bar?"

The girls turned and looked to see James and Sirius talking to Rosmerta laughing and side arming each other.

"Well Lily doesn't think much of them, that much is certain" Hannah piped up,

"Yah, Lily why is that?"

"Well aside from being arrogant blokes, they both prance around shouting jinxes just because they can. Besides that since our third year Potter has taken to asking me out at every opportunity and that bugger doesn't even know me, its damn offensive"

"I dunno," Hannah smiled "I always thought it was kinda sweet"

"Well ladies," a voice came from behind from none other than Sirius Black, "James and I were leaving and we wished to bid you farewell" he said bowing his head slightly, the girls were always charmed by his simple way of making them all feel beautiful.

"How was your summers?" asked Cecilia

"Lovely, I didnt see my family at all, and I spent the rest of the time with James"

"I stayed at my house and waited for Sirius to arrive, how was your summer Lily?"

The girls all turned and smiled at Lily,

"It was pleasant, quiet," she said reluctantly acting as though she couldn't care one way or another.

"Well then," said Sirius, seeking an opportunity to leave "James and I are off then, we'll see you at Kings Cross in next week!"

As they walked away James looked slightly pleased with himself,

"Not a single biting word! It may have been only 4 words, but it was as she said "pleasant""

When James arrived home he received another pleasant surprise an owl from Minerva McGonagall.

Dear Mr Potter,

It is my pleasure to inform you, that your fellow students have elected you to be Head Boy, and Miss Lily Evans to be Head Girl. I cannot tell you how pleased I am you both came from Gryffindor. Please arrive at Kings Cross ready to board on the Prefects cart, and you and Miss Evans can begin your meeting.

Congratulations!

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Head Mistress

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry


	2. Chapter 2

"Remus my boy!" Sirius said as Remus Lupin entered the Potter home "Damn good to see you!"

"You too Sirius," he turned to Mr and Mrs Potter, "And thank you all for letting me stay here, it was very kind of you"

"You are always welcome here Remus" Mrs Potter said with a smile, "Now when is that Pettigrew boy supposed to be here?"

"Anytime now," replied James "Until then though, Sirius Remus and I are going up to my room"

"So Prongs" began Remus, "Padfoot tells me you all saw Lily Evans at Three Broomsticks... and she said 5 whole words with out insulting you, good job mate you made me proud!"

"Shut up Moony, it was 4 words and she's talking to me and that is all I require" James replied with a knowing smile,

"Oy Moony thats right, Prongs over here plans to marry our friend Lily" Both Sirius and Remus erupted in laughter as a stout boy walked into the room.

"Wormtail! Where have you been, you only said a few words on that owl we sent!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Its been busy, my parents are fighting again and it seems as though they weren't entirely impressed with my grades from last year and insisted upon helping me with my homework" The boys looked to each other, none of them had feuding parents, Sirius had parents that he despised but they never fought openly in front of him or his brother.

The rest of the evening consisted of teasing each other about what was to come of the following year, and even a decision of pranks that would be played, when and where. It seems as though the boys were in another dimension away from all the cruelty and horrible things in the world, they didnt worry about school, all that mattered was the fun they were to have.

They awoke early the next morning slowly putting on their robes. James poked himself multiple times with his Head Boy pin, until Remus finally adjusted it. They had all been surprised and eager to tease James of his new position, it did however give them a great sense of Pride in their Marauders, they were the best and the brightest and the election of James had proved that.

Lily arrived to the train station twenty minutes early and proceeded to Platform 9 ¾ and arrived on the Train before any of the Prefects, she sat in the prefect's cart trying to put together a presentation on what would be said.

She was not at all surprised when she received her letter and found out James was Head Boy, however the shock of her being Head Girl had taken some getting used to. It was to be a long train ride followed by an even longer year, she expected minimal help from James assuming he would be to busy with his friends to remember to come to the cart, she had prepared to give the whole presentation alone.

The Prefect's slowly stumbled in, about 5 minutes before the train pulled out, in walked James. He had a look on his face Lily did not recognize, it was something of intimidation, then he tosseled his hair. She brushed it aside and called him over.

"I have here what we are to go over in the meeting," she said, thumbing through the "few words" they were to say, James looked at her and smiled.

"What?" she asked slightly annoyed,

"You just seemed so overly prepared, I figured we would just tell them to help with the first years and explain to the new guys their general boundaries. I didnt realize we had to do all this"

"Well James you are free to Just "wing it", I just thought we could use a little bit of order"

"Your right we could, I just thought that we might do highlights, make it shorter, keep everyones attention while we have it" He tried to act as nonchalant as possible,

"Okay" she finally said, with a twinge of annoyance and a little bit more of surprise.

They led the meeting without a glitch and the Prefect's were able to get out of the cart fairly quickly.

"Don't forget the meeting to see Dumbledore after the feast" James reminded her,

"It is not in my nature to forget James, I remember EVERYTHING" to his surprise she looked at him not in disgust but almost like she was teasing him.

Lily went off to find Hannah, praying that Hannah hadn't been to bored, Lord knows the girls they hang out with are shallow enough. It was to be an exciting year, full of things unexpected, and starting the year out with a 20 minute speech by James Potter, did not seem like the best way to start it.

James went off to find his marauders, who were no doubt making trouble wherever they were. He found their compartment quickly considering it was the only one that sounded as though the door was about to break down.

"Oy! What in the bloody hell are you doing?' James asked looking down on the floor to see Sirius wrestling Peter and Remus had a wand out on the verge of hexing either one of them.

Sirius was the first to stand up, "Peter thought it would be funny to put a chocolate frog in my pocket and not tell me.." James looked at him curiously "THAT WAS AN HOUR AGO AND NOW IT LOOKS LIKE IVE TAKEN A DUMP IN MY PANTS" he stood up and showed James who began to laugh hysterically at the situation.

The next few hours of the train ride passed by slowly and the boys couldn't help but realize this was to be their last trip on the Hogwarts Express together. Remembering their first time on the Hogwarts Express

"I remember getting on the train and going into an empty compartment trying to escape my damn cousin and all of her stupid little friends," Sirius said looking at James

"I came in here because, well I didn't know anyone, my parents were too old to have any friends with kids my age" James added,

"I of course knew no one, and I came in and saw you two talking, and there was room so," Remus nodded

"And you guys picked me up after those damned Slytherins tried to hex me" Peter whimpered.

They were all very different, yet somehow for Seven years that become best friends, no one could deny that James and Sirius were the closest of the bunch, but there was an unrealistic bond between all of them, unsurpassed loyalty. If there was anything to be jealous of the Marauders for, that was it.

They left the Hogwarts express and loaded onto the carriages which were heading up towards the school.

The feast went on as it always had, Dumbledore gave a loopy speech which made them all appreciate his sense of humor, and the Sorting house sorted all of the First years into their respective houses. James and Lily made their way up to the staff table to meet with Dumbledore so they could be introduced to the rest of the school.

"Ah, yes, furthermore, I would like to introduce you to your new Head Boy and Girl, Mr James Potter, and Lily Evans," James looked out to the crowd smiling, and tosseled his hair, Lily was simply beaming and almost every table burst into applause except for the Slytherin table which exchanged disgusted glares.

At the end of the feast, James left his friends, and set out to find Lily, and if he had any luck at all they would be able to walk to Dumbledore's office together.

"Lily! Hey, Evans!" she turned around and with a small smile rolled her eyes and continued walking,

"Bugger," James mumbled now running to catch up with her,

"You know Lily you really do not make it easy on a guy" he panted

"Just a hint Potter, when a girl blatantly ignores you... you MIGHT want to take the hint" she smiled and continued walking a little bit a head of him.

"Is that a smile I see Miss Evans, because you know smiling only makes the heart grow fonder" she rolled her eyes and continued to walk a little faster than he was.

"Razzles" Lily spoke clearly to the phoenix, it at once began to open and she and James quickly approached the door,

"Come in," they heard the headmaster say, "I trust you had no trouble finding the place?"

Lily and James smiled and took a seat,

"I cannot impress upon you the importance of leadership this year will require, it is no surprise to you I am sure that you have noticed the Daily Prophet lately" they both looked to the ground unsure of what to say, "Lord Voldemort is gaining support, and powers and I need you two to help unify this school, people will be dying and losing relatives outside of Hogwarts but it is important that I impress upon you the importance of unification now, even with the Slytherins" Dumbledore added looking specifically at James

"But sir, isnt the ministry of magic any closer to catching him than before," Lily asked.

"My dear girl I wish I could say yes, but unfortunately Voldemort is a very powerful wizard, among the most powerful of this century I am sure"

They both gave a silent nod and left his office, they were no longer being very flirty, to Lily's surprise though, James looked almost scared,

"Whats with you" she blurted

"Nothing you would care to know" he said now walking a few steps in front of her,

"Maybe I would if you would just tell me" he stopped and turned to her

"No," he said quietly and then continued to walk, they walked in silence until they arrived at the dormitory where James held the portrait hole open.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Halloween

It was almost October and the castle was noticeably quieter. The marauders were finally beginning to study and actually work at their magic. However the primary reason that nothing had happened was because James had been out of sorts now for weeks.

No one knew why, he received weekly owls from home as usual, yet they just seemed to upset him, and even Sirius had trouble getting anything out of him. James had taken to being alone more now, convinced that in some way it would make whatever he was going through easier.

"JAMES POTTER GET OUT OF THAT DAMN BED! WE HAVE TO BE IN SLUGHORNS CLASS IN 20 MINUTES!" James rolled over,

"Shut up Sirius, wake me up in 15" he groaned burying his head in the pillow, Sirius intern looked at Lupin who nodded and with that James was hanging upside down almost comically

"James we have been letting you get away with this for far to long now, its October, Halloween is coming up, and the full moon isnt to far away, now get your head in the game we have a lot to accomplish, and besides Evans is never gonna look twice at you if you smell like a bloody troll" with that James dropped to the ground, looked at Sirius laughed and started getting himself ready

"Good Morning Class" Slughorn greeted,

"Good Morning Professor Slughorn" the class groaned,

"As we have already reviewed from your previous years here, we will now begin harder potions, two in fact, you will work with a partner on" the class exchanged looks,

"Partners" he added "that i will select" the class collectively groaned again "We will begin making two incredibly hard potions, Polyjuice Potion, and Veraseterum" the students all perked up a bit, these weren't just any old potion, these were potions that had the potential to be quite entertaining.

"Now for your Partners, Mr Rosier and Mr Snape, Miss George and Mr Maldive, Miss Evans and Mr Black, Mr Lupin and Mr Potter, Miss Stewart and Mr Pettigrew" he continued on failing to pair and inter-house couples which was good considering the two houses in question were Slytherin and Gryffindor.

The class moved desks to sit with their partners and Remus and James found a place directly behind Sirius and Lily.

"Alright Black, lets get a few things straight, i refuse to do poorly on this just because you are too pigheaded to pay attention, you will do your part of the work or i can guarantee that some of that Veraseterum ends up in your pumpkin juice" Lily said venomously

"Aw Lily, you act as though i have something to hide, but don't worry dear your grade will not suffer because of my incompetence" Sirius said smiling

"You are insufferable, I'd almost rather work with Potter-" Sirius smiled and glanced at James who looked up

"That can be arranged he would only be too happy -"

"I said ALMOST" the class went on and Lily gave Sirius little chores while she began to brew, and tried to not notice the fact that James kept looking at her and tossling his hair, over and over and over.

"Prongs will you pay attention please, I'm not that good with potions, not to say you are entirely brilliant with them, but at least pretend to help" James nodded

"Alright Moony lets get this over with"

They left potions nearly completely drained, and headed off to lunch in the Great Hall, Peter looked especially baffled,

"I hate potions, i always leave with cuts on my fingers and a burning sensation in my no-" sirius interjected

"Eghm, Peter we do not want to hear about any sort of burning sensation your having"

The boys laughed, and their morale was up once more, they sat at their table in the Great Hall, waiting for the mail to arrive, Remus received a letter from his parents and a copy of the Daily Prophet, while James received 2 letters, one from home and one from Lily?

He read the first and its contents must have not been too appealing because he closed his eyes inhaled deeply and then opened the next letter.

"James,

We need to have a meeting to discuss how we are to handle the Halloween celebrations amongst the common rooms and orchestrate a menu for the house elves to bring each dormitory. Please meet me tonight in the Common room at 8 'o' clock.

Don't be late.

Lily "

James smiled at Lily's sterness, hard as she tried she was not as tough as nails. In fact this was the first time that she had ever referred to him as James.

James arrived in the common room with the Marauders at 7:30. Fifteen minutes later, after much argument over which one would have the easiest time whooping Snapes arse, it was finally decided Sirius could do it best, they then decided to leave James for the next fifteen minutes and allow him to prepare.

He was nervous. There was no denying it, he felt slightly agitated, he ruffled his hair in an attempt to calm himself. Quiet chaos, that was the best, he had brought Quidditch Through the Ages for some light reading, but he couldn't focus.

Lily walked through the portrait hole and James' heart skipped a little beat, it sped up and he did all that he could to not let his nerves show on his face.

"Early? That's a nice adjustment" she smiled,

"Anything for you Lils" he wasnt sure if it was just the light but it was almost as though she had blushed, and he had to admit it calmed him to make him know that he was able to make her feel nervous.

The rest of the evening was surprisingly pleasant, the plans seemed to coordinate well and it was sure to be a pleasant Halloween despite all the crazy stuff going on in the outside world.

Over the next few weeks potions was grueling, transfiguration was tedious and Professor Kelpy (DADA) had been piling up the homework. Halloween was a week a way and the celebrations were being looked forward to immensely.

After his meeting with Lily James had loosened up slightly and a few pranks had been played to merely loosen the tension between the students. The boys had prepared to head out to three broomsticks during the afternoon free period to stock up on butterbeer, Remus would stay behind and tell anyone who asked the boys were out studying… separately.

James, Sirius and peter got underneath the invisibility cloak while walking out of the school through the cellar in Honeydukes. When they arrived at the Three Broomsticks it was obvious Madame Rosmerta was not entirely surprised to see her favorite Hogwarts customers. This was certainly not the first time in seven years the boys had come to her pub on a non-Hogwarts visit.

"You boys," she smiled, "What can I do for you today?"

"Five cases of butterbeer" Sirius said deliberately

"Ten galleons," she said wondering which one would be handing over the money,

James pulled out the gold and slit it over the counter.

"You are awfully quiet today Mr Potter" Madame Rosmerta inquired

"Hes just mad because even thought he has been on his very best behavior the fair, Lily Evans has yet to show any sign of legitimate interest" James shrugged,

"Oh, Miss Evans, the read head who threw the-"she stopped herself, reminding him of the time she had thrown butterbeer in his face after a particularly bad conversation was probably not the best idea.

She handed over the cases and the boys headed back to the castle. When they arrived they threw the cloak over the cases, and levitated the cases until they arrived into back into their dormitory. There the cases were stuffed underneath the beds of the boys until Halloween.

October 31, had arrived and the feast was delicious, even James seemed to be acting more like himself. A little bit of a berk yet in a charming way.

Yet all changed after yet another owl had been sent to James and while he tried to pretend it had been nothing, there was no denying that he was noticeably upset by it.

The Gryffindor's headed back to the common room to be treated by the marauders and over one hundred bottles of Three Broomstick's finest butter beer.

While Lily looked at James slightly disapprovingly, she picked up a bottle and raised it to James.

The boys had a great time that night, laughing, and "hitting" on girls.

Everyone had always assumed the boy's were "lady's men", and if they had chosen to be that, then no doubt they would have been.

However Peter was small and meek couldn't find a date even if he tried, Remus refused to date because of his "furry little problem", Sirius surprisingly enough brushed off most girls, not because he was interested in them he was however jaded.

His family or lack there of had impressed upon him the importance of friends, he felt his loyalty while in school should be to his friends, for they were in fact the only family he had ever really had. He had dated here and there, but it was never entirely serious.

James had always been infatuated with Lily, and in fact they used to be friends back in first year. Then James developed a crush, and spent the next six years making a fool of himself whenever she was around.

The rest of the evening in the Gryffindor Tower was filled with laughter and slightly drunken students.

"Wells Gents," Sirius slurred, he was leaning against Remus and Peter who were attempting to deliver Sirius safely back into the dormitory.

James stayed behind. He sat on the couch in front of the fire; he had been doing this a lot lately the whole concept of being alone had appealed to him. For none of his friends, not even Sirius could understand what he had been going through the last few months.

Suddenly the door to the girl's dormitory opened and Lily Evans walked out muttering to herself about a potions book she had misplaced. He watched her quietly. She had yet to notice him as he sat there still watching.

She looked over at him.

"Oh, it's you" she stated simply.

He didn't speak he just gave her a half hearted smile and again looked at he fire.

"Oh come on Potter, being mean to you loses its luster if you don't retaliate at all"

James simply shrugged.

"Come on James what's with you these days?" she asked him now stopping to sit next to him.

"Nothing" he replied gloomily

"Nothing," she mimicked, "Something must be going on because you haven't asked me out at all this year and to be honest I had been growing rather fond of that particular pastime of yours"

"It's nothing" he said "Nothing I can do anything about"

"What's not?" she persisted

"Its my dad," he began, "he's sick, he's dying"

she looked at him, they sat in silence for a few minutes and then he continued.

"My parents are both really old, I was sort of a happy surprise for them, over the summer my dad took to bed rest, and now the healers at St. Mungos said its only a matter of time before-" he couldn't continue, the words just couldn't come to him.

Regardless of the fact that everything thought he was an arrogant prat most of the time, and he had not been the type of person his father was in school. He never stopped respecting his father; his father had fought along side Dumbledore to fight Grinwald. His father was an amazing man. The thought of losing him before James life began seemed cruel.

"James I…" Lily was at a mere loss for words

"Its okay, its been hard to talk about with the guys, I haven't told them anything about it"

"Not even Sirius?"

"No not even Sirius, he has enough of his own family issued besides he never has been very good with the whole serious feelings business"

"Right, well… thanks for telling me, I guess that makes me pretty special huh?" she said now smiling at him.

"You always have been," she blushed "but I think I'd better head back up to the dormitory, thanks Lily"

"Your welcome" she finished then without a second thought, reached over to give him a hug.

It was the first time she had ever done that to any guy, she had never reached out to someone. It was strange, her head fit so comfortably on his chest, and as his arms closed around her and embraced her, it was as though nothing could possibly harm her.

The warmth of that hug is what made her wonder what James Potter was really like.


End file.
